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A shocking yet brave official statement by the minister of Islamic affairs was made during a conference on facing extremism and terrorism organised recently by Al Quds Centre for Political Studies in Amman.

Marriages, divorces rise in 2011

Kingdom’s population stands at over 6.75 million

by Khetam Malkawi | Jan 22, 2012 | 23:35

Couples form a long line as the take part in a mass wedding party organised by an Islamic charity organisation in Amman few years ago. (AFP file photo)

AMMAN — More Jordanians were divorced in 2011 than in the previous year, but the number of marriages also increased, according to a report issued by the Civil Status and Passports Department (CSPD).

The report, which was sent to The Jordan Times Sunday, showed that 10,990 divorces were registered in the country last year, compared to 9,913 cases in 2010 — an increase of over 10 per cent.

However, the number of registered marriages also increased to 67,089, compared to 64,267 in the previous year.

The number of registered births last year fell by nearly 3 per cent to 200,985, compared to 207,007 in 2010, while 24,162 deaths were registered last year, compared to 22,663 in the previous year — a 6.6 per cent increase.

According to the report, the Kingdom’s population — measured by the number of holders of national numbers registered at the department as of January 1, 2012 — stood at 6,758,272, of which 3,345,176 (49 per cent) were female.

The report also showed that 773,112 Jordanians (11.4 per cent of the population) are between five and nine years old, making them the largest age demographic, while those aged between 60 and 64 are the smallest demographic, standing at 121,329 people or just 1.7 per cent of the total population.

Meanwhile, the department will continue working on the electronic archive system, which has catalogued 500,000 passport applications and 900,000 other documents, including identity cards, as of the end of last year, according to CSPD Director Marwan Qteishat.

He explained that the electronic archive system serves as a computerised reference for citizens who lose their documents.